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ALAstella -> RE: You know you are getting old when: (1/25/2009 3:51:11 PM)
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Ala can still remember martial law in Poland under General Jaruszelski, the police curfew (no leaving your home after 10pm), not being able to buy alcohol before 1pm, internal visas to travel to the next town, and there not being any clothing available for babies who were born.
She remembers queuing up for 2-3 days at a time to obtain everyday household items which were available only on ration cards. Everyone had money, but nobody could buy anything. There were empty shops, but people just turned up and formed long queues just in case something turned up within the next two or three days. She remembers buying clothing and shoes, whatever she could get her hands on, the size, style and material didn't matter. If it didn't fit she would sell it. The longest queues were over 3 days for toilet rolls. Family members would take it in turns to stand in the queues. If you saw a shop without a queue you tended to stand by it, even in the middle of the night, just to be first in the queue. However there were lots of pensioners usually waiting outside anything which resembled a shop.
There were armed police everywhere, and they could stop and search you and ask you anything. Some people disappeared from the street and didn't reappear for a long time. Cars were constantly stopped and searched.
There were constant holidays.. The Potato Holiday for example, when everyone would celebrate the harvesting of potatoes and the realization of the Three Year Plan or the Five Year Plan. There was a shortage of cigarettes, but you could buy whole tobacco leaves on the black market, dry them out, chop them up and make your own cigarettes.
Most people drove Polski Fiats and Trabants.. the Wartburg was a luxury car..
Ala remembers travelling 60 miles to Bialystok to wait 2 days to buy a radio cassette recorder to play tapes.
The first year was the worst, but it got better and it wss quite good because everybody had money, it was still difficult to obtain things but you always had people to help you out, to buy and sell things from, and most things were dirt cheap. Polish society turned into one based on friendships and contacts who could 'arrange' things for you.
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